Property tax reforms get hearing with House panel

STATE LEGISLATURE

By Marc Powers ~ Southeast Missourian

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Legislative interest in property tax reform remains high with a House committee on Tuesday considering 20 pieces of legislation on the subject.

As was the case when a Senate panel took up a dozen measures on the issue last month, those who packed a hearing room to testify split into two basic camps: Lawmakers and others wanting to protect homeowners from escalating taxes due to biennial increases in assessed property values, and education lobbyists fearful that tinkering with the system could cost schools revenue.

The House Ways and Means Committee took no action on the proposals, but is expected to pass something in the coming weeks. The Senate already has two bills awaiting action by the full chamber.

One measure attempts to fix rollback procedures that are intended to protect property owners from higher taxes following reassessment cycles. It would also cap assessment increases for all homeowners at 5 percent, ban so-called "drive-by" inspections by assessors and shift the burden of proof from property owners to assessors in appeals.

The second bill, modeled on a 38-year-old Oregon law, would allow many people age 62 or older to defer paying property taxes on their homes until they are sold.

House bills identical to those measures were among those brought before the committee.

The tax deferment bill is favored by education groups because the state would reimburse school districts, the primary beneficiaries of property taxes, and other local jurisdictions for lost revenue.

State Rep. Bob Hilgeman, D-St. Louis, said about 10,000 elderly Oregon homeowners are currently taking advantage of the deferment program. Eligible property owners enrolled in the program can defer increases in property taxes but must pay 6 percent simple interest at the time of sale.

"It's not a huge program, but it is a successful program that keeps people from having to sell their houses," Hilgeman said.

However, Harry Gallagher, a lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, said his organization fears that leans for deferred taxes placed against properties by the state would prevent such homeowners from getting loans using their property as collateral.

Most of the other House bills considered carried various elements of the lead Senate legislation, though some offered different solutions.

Some of those bills contained provisions to:

Cap assessment increases only for the elderly instead of all homeowners.

Freeze assessment hikes for the elderly.

Require a certificate of value on a property to be filed with local assessors to reduce the subjective aspects of setting a home's expected fair market value.

Limit the growth rate in assessments to growth in Missourians' average personal income.

Require statewide reassessment every four years instead of the current two.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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